Starting Over
by obsessiveryleyfan
Summary: Kitty thought she would never see the elusive film director Artie Abrams after he graduated high school. However, she finds herself in for a treat when he runs into her in New York City. One problem: she has a - little - guest living with her that complicates things. Another suckish summary brought to you by yours truly. Rated T for language.
1. Chapter 1

**Bonjour! You may know me from my Ryley fic After. Starting Over, however, isn't Ryley. I went onto the Kartie section on here and saw only six stories and most of them are oneshots. I am head over heels in love with Kartie (not as much as Ryley, but it's a definite OTP...Not the OTP though. That will forever and always be Ryley). I'm rambling. Anyway, for this story, I am pretending that the Tested episode never happened. I'm also going to keep Finn alive for at least most of this story, if not the whole thing. **

**Ships: Kartie (it's kind of a given), Ryley (of course), Brittana, Finchel, etc... I'm not to sure about Klaine lately. I may also experiment with Brake (Jake and Bree) later on. Tell me if I have the ship name wrong. This will be mainly in Kitty's point of view. **

**Disclaimer: I swear on everything in the world that I don't own Glee. I also will do anything in the world to make it mine. *Creepily retreats into the shadows***

* * *

I pulled opened the door to the Starbucks and stepped inside. The air conditioning swept over me, relieving me of the sticky late June heat. I walked towards the counter, pulling the little hand that was clutched in mine.

"What do you want," I asked. She shrugged, not meeting my eyes, "Honey, you have to eat something. I haven't seen you eat anything but goldfish in two days." She still didn't look up at me. "I'm getting you a cinnamon roll and a chocolate milkshake and you're going to eat it. Okay?" Slowly, she nodded. I placed the order and went to go sit down. I glanced down at my phone to check the time when a figure at a neighboring table caught my eye. When I realized who it was, I nearly dropped my phone. While I contemplated what to do, I took him in. He still had the same wheelchair and wore the same racing gloves and the same glasses. Suddenly, our eyes met and his mouth dropped open. Before I knew what to do, he was wheeling over to where I was sitting.

"Kitty," he said, sounding shocked.

"Artie," I said, cringing, "Hi."

"How are you," Artie said. He glanced at the figure sitting beside me, "Who's this little lady."

"This is Anna. She's, um," I searched for a word that described my situation, "My daughter."

"Oh," he said, sounding surprised and almost crestfallen, "Well, I have to go back to my table, but do you want to catch up sometime?"

"Um ," I hesitated, wanting to say no, but not knowing how. I was saved by Marley, who walked up to our table.

"Hi Kitty, hi Anna," she said enthusiastically. She glanced at Artie, and then at me, and then at Artie again, "Hi Artie."

"Hi Marley," Artie replied, "What brings you here."

"Oh, I babysit Anna while Kitty's at work," Marley explained, "Why are you here?"

"I am trying to convince Kitty to come to dinner with me tonight," Artie said.

"I would, but I don't have anyone to watch Anna," I said, praising myself for thinking on the spot.

"I can take her," Marley spoke up. I spoke too soon.

"You can," I asked, trying to sound relieved.

"Yeah," she replied, "It's Ryder's and my movie night, but I've been waiting for an excuse to watch Despicable Me Two."

"Great. I know this amazing restaurant down the street," he said, smiling. He gave me the address and waved goodbye, heading back to his table. Marley slid into he seat across from Anna and I.

"So," she said, "Is this the start of Kartie."

"Is this another one of those stupid nicknames," I asked. She nodded wildly.

"I just ship you guys so hard," she said, giggling. "Plus, he's a big director now and he has a lot money. And," she continued, "He stopped wearing the vests. He's pretty cute too."

"Okay, you are so adorable right now, but you're engaged." I said, shaking my head in exasperation.

"Kitty," she said in mock offense, "Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?"

"You are literally the biggest dork I have ever met. You and Ryder are meant for each other; I was just kidding," I said, laughing, "I have to go. I'm running late for work. Make sure she eats. Bye guys." I waved and made my way out of the restaurant, being careful to avoid Artie's table

* * *

After I drove the three blocks to Greywall Corporate Headquarters through the heavy New York traffic, and made my way up to my small office, my boss, Edward Johnson, knocked on my door.

"Come in," I replied. He opened the door and stepped inside.

"I've got another case for you," he said bluntly.

"Okay," I said, "What is it."

"LG Corp is suing GE for fifty million dollars. Julienne Alfred is here to talk to you. She's the head of the legal department at GE," he said. He stuck his head out the door and called someone in. She was wearing a navy skirt suit with matching shoes. Her brown hair was secured in a tight bun at the nape of her neck. I stood up as she entered the room.

"Hello," she said, with a hint of a French accent, "I'm Julienne Alfred."

"Katherine Wilde," I replied, shaking her hand. Edward waved and left the room, quietly shutting the door behind him.

"So what's the problem," I asked, somewhat stupidly.

"LG Corp is suing us for fifty million dollars. They say we copied one of their dishwasher designs, even though I am one hundred percent positive we didn't," she said. I nodded, taking notes on my iPad, "We wanted to come to you because with such a large sum of money on the line, we want someone who has a lot of experience with cases like this."

"Let me confirm this with you. Do you want to get them to drop the case or do you want to go to court and try to get them to lose?"

"Whichever way is the most logical pour vous," she replied, and then caught herself, "For you. Sorry, I just got back from visiting my family in Nice. I may do it again, so forgive me."

"Oh, it's okay," I said, smiling, "To continue, I recommend forcing them to drop the case. All you need to do is find a way to convince them that they aren't the same design."

* * *

For the entire eight hours I was at the office, Julienne and I discussed the case. At exactly four, I said goodbye to Edward and went back to my apartment. I was meeting Artie at the restaurant at six, which gave me two hours to get ready. I stood in my work clothes in my closet, trying to decide what to wear. I scoured the entirety of my closet until I found what I was looking for: an above the knee cream colored sleeveless dress with a cream Peter Pan collar and thin vertical peach colored stripes running up and down the fabric, peach colored ankle strap heels, huge gold hoop earrings, and a big peach bag. I laid the entire ensemble across my bed. I looked in over, nodding with approval.

* * *

After I took a shower and got dressed, I curled the ends of my hair. I stood in my full length mirror, taking in my reflection.

"It's not a date Kitty," I reprimanded myself, "Why are you trying this hard for a guy that broke your heart?"

I shook my head, getting myself out of the stupor and walked to Anna's room. I pulled a pink bag out of her closet and filled it with things she might need. As I was searching her room, I began talking to myself, finding it somewhat comforting.

"Should I pack her a toothbrush? How late will I get back? Probably around nine. Her bedtime is at eight, but they're going to watch a movie. She'll probably fall asleep during it though," I said absentmindedly. I had never had to do this before. I ended up throwing a pair of pajamas, her ducky and blankie, socks, underwear, a sweatshirt and a hairbrush into the bag. I hurried out of the apartment, grabbing my bag and sweater on the way. As I walked down the long flight of stairs I checked my phone for the time; it was five thirty. I had half an hour to drop of Anna's stuff at Marley and Ryder's apartment and backtrack to get to the apartment through New York's traffic.

* * *

I knocked on the door of Marley and Ryder's apartment. Moments later, Ryder pulled it open.

"Hi Kitty," he said cheerfully, "Come on in." I entered the small apartment and saw Anna and Marley at the kitchen counter making pizza bagels.

"Hi," I replied.

Marley wiped the flour and tomato sauce off of her hands and came over to me, "Are you excited for your date," she said quietly.

"It's not a date," I said defensively, glancing at Anna, who was making a face on her bagel out of pepperoni, "He just said we should catch up."

"Yeah, sure."

I rolled my eyes, "Anyway, I have some stuff for Anna because I'm not really sure what time I'm coming back here, so if she falls asleep I have pajamas and other stuff. I'm pretty sure I've already told you this, but her bedtime is at eight. If you're going to watch a movie like you said, she'll probably fall asleep during it, so you can start it whenever you want," I said quickly, trying to get all my thoughts out at once.

"I know," Marley said, "She'll be fine. Enjoy your catching up with Artie."

"We'll see," I replied sarcastically, "Bye Anna. Be good. Bye Ryder. Thanks again Marley. I'll probably be home around nine or nine thirty.

"Bye," she replied, smiling.

* * *

I arrived at the restaurant at the same time as Artie.

"Hi Kitty," he said, smiling, "You look nice."

"Thanks," I replied, "So do you."

* * *

After we ordered our food, we began our conversations.

"So where have you been," I asked.

"Well, you know I came here for college and I graduated when I was twenty two. When I was twenty four, I was offered a job at Faircrest Film Studios and three years after that I was asked to co-directed the latest Avengers movie," he said.

"That's great," I said, feeling oddly proud of him, "I always knew you would be a great director."

"Thanks," he replied, "Now how about the elusive Kitty Wilde. Where have you been all these years." I inwardly groaned. My life has always been complicated and it seemed to get worse after high school.

"You don't want to know about me," I said, avoiding the question.

"Yes, I do," he said persuasively.

"It's just such a long story," I said.

"I've got time," he replied, leaning back in his wheelchair. I shook my head, laughing.

"You are so freaking clichéd."

"Did it work," he asked hopefully. I sighed.

"Yes," I finally gave in.

* * *

**If you didn't like this chapter, please keep reading because it's going to take me a little bit of time get used to writing this. I also didn't know if Kitty was a nickname or her actual name, but I made her real name Katherine in this because it sounds more professional. Updates: Every Monday. **


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm excited for this chapter. The stuff in italics is a flashback. **

**Mailbag:**

**Gleek888: Thanks so much for...liking it. Can I get anymore awkward? Trust me, Anna isn't Kitty's daughter in the way you would think.**

* * *

"Okay," I began, "After I graduated from McKinley, I went to Virginia for college. It was

okay. I had friends and the classes weren't that hard. Then, in my senior year, my friends

and I went to this party. Everybody got really drunk. I woke up the next day in some

random guy's apartment. Nobody was there. About two months later, I found out I was

pregnant with Anna. I didn't have a clue who the father was; I still don't.

"She was born five years ago, on March 19. I decided before she was born to put her up

for adoption. I couldn't take care of her. I wasn't old enough and I didn't have any

money. As expected, my parents threw me out. I wanted to go to law school and have a

real career. Two days after she was born a woman named Carol Gattis came and said she

would adopt her. I never saw either of them after that. That September I started law

school in Boston and graduated three years later. I came here to work for the Greywall

corporate law firm and I've been working there for a year." I concluded.

"Wait," Artie said, clearly unsatisfied, "Hold up. You were with Anna at Starbucks this

morning."

"Oh, God," I said, "You want to hear that too?" He nodded, "Okay, so it was a little less

than a month ago. It was a Friday and I had just gotten home from work..." As I told the

story, I replayed the memory that will be etched in my memory forever.

* * *

_I slipped my uncomfortable heels off of my feet and threw them on the floor. I was so _

_done with this job. I couldn't take Edward anymore. I collapsed onto my couch and _

_curled up in a soft blanket. I turned the TV on, hoping to catch the last minutes of Grey's _

_Anatomy. I turned up the volume. The heavy rain pounding on the roof - I lived on the _

_top floor of my apartment - matched my mood perfectly. The microwave beeped and I _

_stood up to get my dinner: reheated pizza from about three nights ago. Just as I was _

_raising the slice to my mouth, there was a banging on my door. I glanced at the radio on _

_the stove. It was almost ten thirty. There was another round of heavy knocks on the _

_door._

_"I'm coming," I called. I put my slice of pizza back on the plate, my mouth still watering _

_from its tantalizing smell. I walked to the door, unlocked the deadbolt and pulled the _

_door open. I saw a tall women standing in the hallway with a smaller figure standing _

_beside her. Both had wet raincoat hoods over their heads. _

_"Hello," I said, questioningly._

_"Hello," the woman replied curtly, stepping into my apartment uninvited, "I'm Carol _

_Gattis and I'm afraid I can't take care of Anna anymore. Things have," she paused, _

_"Come up, which can't be avoided. Here she is, here's some of her stuff. She pushed the _

_girl and a small black suitcase towards me. Good bye." Before I knew what had just _

_happened, Carol headed for the door. I stood dumbstruck in the middle of the room. I _

_was brought out of my stupor by a loud cry. _

_"Mommy," Anna shrieked, "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy."_

_"Anna," Carol said sharply, "I'm not your Mommy anymore. She's your Mommy now." _

_She pointed at me. Anna knocked her suitcase over with a loud thump in her haste to get _

_to Carol. _

_"Mommy," Anna cried desperately, "Please don't leave me." Carol backed out of the _

_apartment, pushing her away. The door slammed, narrowly missing Anna's small hands. _

_She collapsed into the floor, kicking and screaming. _

_"Mommy," she howled, "I want my Mommy!" I didn't know what to do. I had never taken _

_care of a kid before, never mind one in such a state as Anna. I glanced down at her _

_suitcase, still lying in the floor from when it had been knocked over. I brought it to my _

_couch and opened it, desperate for something to comfort her. I found several shirts, _

_pants, dresses and pairs of socks, pajamas and underwear thrown haphazardly inside. At _

_the bottom I found a small soft pick blanket with satin edges and a soft, fluffy yellow _

_duck with an orange beak. Bringing my two discoveries with me, I knelt down beside _

_Anna. _

_"Anna," I said cautiously, "Do you want your duck or your blanket to make you feel _

_better?" Although she kept crying, she rolled over and saw me holding up her duck and _

_blanket. She sat up, almost choking over her tears. I gently handed her the objects and _

_she grabbed them, flopping on the floor again, crying for Carol. _

* * *

_I glanced at the clock. It read eleven forty five. Anna hadn't let up her sobbing for over _

_an hour. I was scared for her. I walked over to her a scooped her up in my arms and _

_carried her to my room. I gently set her down on the bed. _

_"Good night Anna," I said, pulling the blankets up to her neck, "When you wake up _

_tomorrow everything will be better." As I shut the door I almost laughed at my words. I _

_always was amazed at how easily solved kids problems were. Anna's was certainly not a _

_problem that would solve itself overnight._

* * *

**That was intense! Or maybe not. Please R and R to let me know what you **

**thought!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Aloha! I'm back! Please R and R! It means the world to me!**

**Mailbag:**

**Gleek888: Thanks for the nice review! I'm not sure when I'm going to have Artie meet Anna, but it will be soon. **

**Gleelover62: Reading your review literally almost made me cry. This is why it write fanfiction. I'm so glad you like this and I hope I will be writing it for a while. **

**kyrandiana: I know I sent you a PM about this, but it was taken care of and thank you so much for bringing it to my attention. **

**Guest: I do plan in continuing this story, and I also plan on bringing in other characters as well. I don't know if you can tell, but I'm kind of winging it with this story so there isn't really any telling when they'll make they're appearance**.

* * *

"Shit," Artie replied slowly, sounding amazed, "Who's been helping you raise her?"

"Ryder and Marley live fifteen minutes away and they take her while I'm at work and she starts kindergarten in September so that makes it easier."

"And this happened how long ago?"

"About a month."

"How has she been?"

"She doesn't talk a lot, she doesn't eat a lot. She doesn't do anything that a normal five year old does. She seems really upset."

"What does she do?"

"She likes to read. I don't know if she can read but she likes to look at the pictures. She likes art. She can fly through a coloring book. She likes dolls and stuffed animals. She might like to cook or bake, but I haven't had the time to try to bake something with her."

"Why did Carol leave her?"

"I don't have a clue. I didn't really know anything about her except that she didn't have a criminal record. She just showed up at the hospital and said she'd take her. I was so desperate I said yes."

"I'm pretty sure that isn't legal."

"Probably not. All I know is that she's Anna's mom and still is. She didn't make me sign anything saying I was her legal guardian. I don't have any medical documents or anything. I don't know anything about allergies or any of that stuff."

"Aren't you a lawyer?"

"A corporate lawyer. I didn't want to go into family law for that reason. I don't think I could deal with all of that divorce and custody and marriage."

"Speaking of marriage," Artie began and I inwardly groaned. This was the conversation I had been dreading, "Just out of curiosity, are you dating anyone?"

"No," I replied truthfully, "My main concern right now is Anna. You?"

"Nah," he replied, "Not enough time." Surprisingly, I was relieved. What was wrong with me? I was over him. Sure, I liked him in high school, but that was gone. Anyway, would this big director even still be interested in me?

* * *

I softly knocked on Marley and Ryder's apartment door. After a couple seconds, it was softly pulled open. I could hear the end of Despicable Me 2 playing on the TV.

"Anna's asleep," Marley said quietly, "She fell asleep in the middle of the movie. Come here." She led me into the apartment where I saw Ryder asleep in the couch with Anna in his arms.

"Please tell me you got a picture of that," I whispered. She nodded.

"I'll send it to you."

"Please."

"Let's talk about your date," she began. I softly groaned.

"It's not a date Marley," I reminded her.

"Well whatever it was, how did it go?"

"It was fine," I replied, feeling myself blushing.

"It looks like it was more than fine. What did you talk about?"

"Everything that happened between high school and now."

"Did you have the Anna talk," she asked. I nodded, "What! You must still like him if you had the Anna talk with him. You haven't even had the full Anna talk with your boss."

"That wasn't even the most awkward part. We had the dating conversation."

"No," Marley replied, sounding shocked, "He didn't ask you out, did he?"

"God no. He just asked me if I had been dating anyone and I said no and I asked him and he said no," I assured her, "How did Anna go?"

"She was good. We had pizza bagels and ice cream and played Candy Land. We started the movie at seven and she fell asleep at eight. Ryder didn't want to move and wake her up so I guess he fell asleep too."

"I should probably get her now," I said. I pulled Anna out of Ryder's arms and cradled her in mine.

"So I'll see you on Monday," Marley asked, opening the door and handing me Anna's bag. I nodded, being careful to not wake Anna.

* * *

After the short drive to my apartment and after I wrestled with the door to one-handedly unlocked and open the door, I brought Anna to her room. After I realized that Anna might be with me permanently, I transformed my storage room into what I hoped was a little kid paradise. The walls were a pale blue color which brought out the purples and blues of the woodblock motif print quilt and paisley and geometric print sheets. She had a large bookshelf by a window with a couple of purple fuzzy beanbag chairs beside it. On the opposite wall, a large set of wooden bins was set up, each containing a different thing. One was filled with art supplies: paper, crayons, paint, coloring books and other things. Another had baby dolls. Others were stuffed with dress up clothes and stuffed animals. The one thing I had banned was Barbie. I had learned that body image wasn't everything. It was far from it and Barbie was the opposite of that message. She represented women in a glossy artificial way and said that women were unintelligent and characterless. I didn't want people - especially young children - to be exposed to that.

I gently laid Anna down on the bed and attempted to pull her leggings and t-shirt off of a limp body. I easily slid off the leggings, but the pajama pants proved to be a bit more of a challenge. I must have moved her around so much that she woke up because I saw her eyes flutter open.

"Where am I," she asked groggily.

"We're home," I assured her.

"Mommy's home" she asked.

"No," I replied, "My home. Let me put your pjs on you and them you can go back to bed." Dressing her while she was partially awake was much easier than when she was asleep and soon she was dressed. I slid her under the covers and pulled them over her.

"Goodnight Anna," I said, gathering up her clothes from off of the floor.

"Can I ask you something," Anna asked. I nodded.

"Of course," I replied, trying to not sound surprised. She had never asked me anything before.

"Is Mommy coming back?"

"I don't know honey," I replied. "Maybe."

"What if she never comes back?"

"You could stay with me," I replied, "Or we could talk to a lawyer or the police to see what they say. They could find her and make her come back. Do you want her to come back?" She shrugged.

"I don't know. I'm not really sure what's going on."

"It's your choice, so keep thinking. You can come to me if you need to talk whenever you want. I'm always here for you. Goodnight."

"Goodnight," she replied softly.

* * *

**Thank you to everybody that has followed and favorited so far! It means so much to me, you have no idea.**


	4. Chapter 4

Mailbag:

gleelover62: Thanks so much for enjoying it! Come Monday, I'm on! Every week!

WildeAbrams: I don't understand why so many people dislike Kartie (or Wildebrams or whatever it's called).I guess it's all the Jitty fans and whoever else Artie's been with.

Gleek888: I loved the Kitty-Marley friendship and I wish it would have been shown more, but if RIB won't give us what we want, we put it in fanfiction. Thanks for all the support you've given me and I'm excited for this too!

lifehowtodealwithit: Because you commented on three chapters, I will answer each one separately.

Chapter 1: Thanks and if I do say so myself, it is pretty cute! I hope that doesn't make me sound stuck up...

Chapter 2: Yeah, I was kind of shocked myself when I thought of it.

Chapter 3: Again, making this cute was my plan the whole time!

* * *

My phone rang and I pulled it out of my back pocket. I looked at the caller ID. I didn't recognize the phone number. I answered, hesitantly saying, "Hello."

"Hi Kitty," a voice I immediately recognized as Artie's responses.

"Artie, how the hell did you get my number," I asked.

"I tried your number from high school and it worked."

"Oh," I replied sheepishly, "I guess I forgot I never changed it."

"Anyway," he began, "I just wanted to say that I had fun last night. Maybe we could do it again."

"Yeah," I replied, truthfully.

"I'll call you sometime."

* * *

Thirty minutes later, I was still thinking about my conversation with Artie. Did he like me? Did I like him? My mental struggle was interrupted however, when I heard a door open and close and a moment later, Anna came into the kitchen. I could see the sleep in her eyes and her blonde hair stood out in every direction.

"Good morning," I said.

"Hi," she replied sleepily. I pushed her bowl of dry Cheerios over to her. Slowly, she started eating.

"Did you have fun with Marley and Ryder," I asked. She nodded, "Did you like the movie?" She nodded again, "I was thinking, what if we baked something today?" She looked up from her bowl and nodded. I even saw a hint of a smile.

"Bake what," she asked, almost excitedly.

"Anything you want. We can go to grocery store after you get dressed," She started shoveling Cheerios into her mouth, "Slow down. I'm all yours."

* * *

Anna followed me down the baking aisle of Stop and Shop and we stopped in front of the dozens of boxes of cake and cupcake mixes.

"What do you want to make," I asked.

"Cupcakes," she replied, "Then, we can make each one different." That was the first time referred to the two of us together. Before, she had always just said "you" or "me". She grabbed a box of chocolate cake mix and reached for a can of vanilla frosting. She couldn't reach, so I got it down for her.

"That's what you want," I confirmed. She nodded.

"Chocolate with vanilla frosting is my favorite." It was mine too. Like a wave washing over me, I suddenly noticed how much Anna and I were alike. Not just cupcakes, but she had my straight blonde hair and my hazel eyes. She needed two pillows to sleep, just like me. She hated spaghetti and pasta with tomato sauce like me and both of our favorite colors were blue. I smiled as she grabbed a can of rainbow sprinkles. I was eager to find out more similarities and to get closer to my daughter.

* * *

"Alright," I began, tearing open the cardboard box of cake mix, removing the bag inside. I cut open the bag and handed it to Anna, "Dump that into the bowl." I watched her carefully pour the contents of the bag into a plastic mixing bowl. I measured out the cooking oil and water and took three eggs out of the carton. Anna grabbed the handleof the measuring cup of water and poured it into the bowl.

"It looks like a little town in a flood," she said, looking up and me and giggling, "See, the little piles of mix were the houses and the water was the flood." I nodded, laughing and handed her the other measuring cup.

"What's the oil?" She hesitated, thinking for an answer.

"An oil spill," she decided, "But nobody got hurt because they were on vacation." I nodded, cracking the eggs on the edge of the bowl.

* * *

A timer went off and Anna jumped up.

"They're done," she said happily. I pulled two cupcake tins out of the oven and set them out to cool down.

"We can't decorate them yet because they're too hot, but we can pick the colors for the frosting." While the cupcakes were baking, I had discovered a box of food dyes in the back of my pantry, "What colors do you want?"

"Blue and purple and green." She replied eagerly. I scooped blobs of frosting into small three white bowls and uncapped a bottle of blue food coloring. I squeezed a few drops into one of the bowls and mixed it together.

"Perfect," Anna said. I did the same with the green and purple. Soon we had three perfectly dyed bowls of frosting. I gave Anna a dozen cupcakes to frost and gave myself the other dozen. I was being methodical. Each cupcake was a solid color: four purples, four greens and four blues. Anna however, was being much more creative. She was swirling colors together or creating patterns on it. I was done far before her, so I sat and watched. Every once in a while, she glanced at me. After she did this five times, she asked me,

"Why are you looking at me?"

"Because you're good at that. Look at how pretty they are."

"Thank you," she replied bashfully, looking back at her cupcake. Her hair fell like a curtain, shielding her face from mine.

"Are you okay?" She nodded, smearing purple icing on a cupcake. She hesitated before speaking.

"How come Mommy said that you're my Mommy now?" It was almost like I got the wind knocked out of me. Had Carol really not told Anna she was adopted? Did Anna really not know? I can't tell her the full story yet. She was just starting to trust me and things were starting to look up. If I told her the truth, it would ruin everything.

"Well, I had an agreement with your mom that if something ever happened to her, I would take care of you." This was stretching the truth by a landslide. My agreement I made with Carol was that when Anna turned twelve, I could meet her and spend time with her. This had obviously been completely disregarded.

"What happened to her," she asked, still not pulling her attention away from her cupcake.

"I don't know. Maybe she just needed some alone time. Maybe she was sick. I don't know."

"Did Mommy not love me? Did Mommy not want me? Did Mommy not care about me anymore?" Those words stung. Maybe it was because it came from a five year old. Maybe because I felt guilty for what I had done before she was a week old. Maybe because at that moment, she turned and looked me straight in the eye as she said it. Whatever it was, those words hit me like a punch in the stomach and I suddenly realized how much Carol had hurt Anna.

"I want you to know something," I said, swiveling her chair around to face me and looking her in the eye, "I don't know what your mom's deal is. I really don't know. I don't know why she left you with me. I don't know if she cared. But I do know that I care about you. I always will and I'm always going to love you. I'm always on your side." She nodded, and for the first time ever she said:

"I love you too."

* * *

**Happy Memorial Day!**


	5. Chapter 5

Hi! Just out of curiosity, do any of you watch How I Met Your Mother? My friend is completely obsessed with it and I went to her house and we watch it for five hours and now I'm hooked. I'm going to do that to her with Glee, except leave out the New York episodes.

Mailbag:

gleelover62: First of all, I just want to say thank you for supporting me through this, even though it's only been five chapters. It really keeps me going even when I'm kind of going through hell and it makes everything so much better. I'm honestly really excited that Anna is getting closer to Kitty. I definitely am going to bring Artie into this a lot more, which you will see in this chapter, but I want to keep it realistic, and realistically, I think Kitty would want to put everything into making sure that Anna was recovering.

kyrandiana: aww thanks! All of your reviews give me such happiness!

Gleek888: I also want to say thank you. You also have been there from square one and you've reviewed every chapter and I'm just so grateful for people like you.

WildeAbrams: I love having another Wildebrams shipper! Thanks for the review on chapter four! It means the world to me!

My cell phone rang for the fifth time that day. I was considering just letting it ring. I leaned back in my office chair and listened to the sound until I realized that it might be Marley. Before even looking at who the call was from, I pick up the phone.

"Hello," I asked, cursing myself for not looking at the caller ID.

"Hi Kitty," a voice I instantly recognized as Artie's said, "Sorry to call you during the day, but I was wondering if you wanted to go out with me tonight."

"You mean, like a date?"

"Who's the cliché one now? No," he said, hesitating before adding on, "Well, only if you want it to be. I know how you were saying how your main concern was your daughter, but it wouldn't be like a formal date. It would just be like last time, but probably more awkward." I laughed.

"I don't think it can get any more awkward than that," I said, "Sure. I'll go out with you." My heart was pounding after I said that. I gave him my address and he said he would pick me up at six.

After the cab ride back to my apartment, I was standing in the exact same place as the last time I went out with Artie: in my closet, surrounded by clothes that weren't right. I finally settled on a pale blue pencil dress with a small bow on the side, white heels and a simple silver necklace. Exactly at six, there was a knock on the door and I went to answer it.

"Hi Artie," I said, after I pulled open the door.

"Hi Kitty," He said, "Ready?" I nodded bashfully and followed him outside.

"Are you sure this isn't awkward," Artie asked after we got our food.

"No," I said, dragged the word out, "Well, maybe."

"Honestly, just a little bit," Artie said, smiling, "How did Anna react?"

"I didn't get to tell her. This is her puzzle night with Ryder and Marley, so I didn't have to pick her up after work," I explained.

"Well, I'm dying to meet her. She sounds awesome."

"She really is. I think she's starting to recover. Remember last time when I said that I wanted to try baking with her," he nodded, "Well, last weekend I decided to actually to bake something with her."

"That's great," Artie said, sounding truthfully happy.

"Well, we made cupcakes together and we spent the whole day together and I actually talked to her about a lot of things. I realized how Carol hurt Anna. I just care about her so much and I hate that she hurt her"

"I completely understand. I can't even deal with how much you care about her. Hey, slight change of subject, how are Ryder and Marley?"

"They're great. They got engaged a couple months ago," I said and Artie practically spit his drink across the table.

"Engaged? Why didn't anybody tell me this," he said, sounding shocked.

"Well, you were kind of hard to reach," I protested, laughing.

"Aw, I always knew they were perfect for each other," he said, laughing as well, "How are they?"

"They're great. Ryder's a kindergarten teacher and Marley's recording an album."

"No way? That's great!"

"Yeah. I'm so glad I stayed friends with them. They're total dorks, but I love them."

"I'm so glad for them! How did Jake take it? I heard he was kind of upset when Ryder and Marley started dating again."

"Oh, well in high school, he reacted how everybody thought he would. He got mad at Ryder and tried to punch him, then he sulked for about a month, and then he proceeded to date every girl at McKinley."

"Naturally."

"When they told him they were engaged, I guess he took it pretty well. He was dating Bree at the time. He still might be."

"How about you? How's your work going?"

"I was handed this awful case defending GE and the women I work with speaks in French half the time. I don't understand most of what she says. It's driving me insane," I said.

"Do you like your job, because if you don't, you should quit," he said, sympathetically.

"I actually love it. It's just that some cases are harder than others. This one just seems like it should be easy but my client is just making it so difficult. I know exactly how to solve it, but she's set on getting money from LG Corp. If she didn't want that, the case would be closed," I said. He sniggered.

"What," I asked.

"Case closed," he said, laughing. I rolled my eyes.

"I can't even believe you still remember that," I said. While we were dating in high school, Artie and I had this thing where we played Clue and whenever Artie thought he had solved the case, he would say "case closed" in a really weird, deep voice.

"We should play Clue," Artie said, sounding excited.

"We should," I agreed, not really sure if I meant it or not.

Two Games of Clue Later

At exactly nine, there was a knock on my door.

"It's Marley," I said, getting up, "She's probably dropping off Anna." I opened the door.

"Hi," I said, letting Marley, carrying a sleeping Anna, in.

"Hi Kitty," Marley said softly, "How was your date with Artie?"

"It was good," I whispered, "He's kind of still here."

"KITTY," Marley shrieked, "No way. No way. Please tell me you're kidding."

"It's not like that," I reassured her, "We remembered how we used to play Clue in high school and we had a little time to kill after dinner, so we came here and played Clue." At that moment, Artie wheeled in.

"Hi Marley," Artie said. I took Anna from her so she could give him a hug.

"Well, I have to go," Marley said, "But it was great to see you Artie. I'll see you on Monday, Kitty."

"See you Monday," I said. Marley let herself out, waving at us as she went.

"So this is the all famous Anna," Artie said.

"Yeah," I said, "I wish you could actually meet her, but I don't want your first impression of her to be of Hurricane Anna."

"Yeah," he agreed, "Maybe next time."

So this chapter has an interesting backstory. When I post a chapter, I like to have the one after it completed as well, so in case something happens and I can't write, I'm okay. I procrastinated horribly with this chapter so I decided to just sit down and write the whole thing. I had already written a paragraph of it, so I sent it to myself and downloaded it onto Word on my computer (even though I usually write on my iPad). I didn't save it because I wasn't very smart and thought it automatically saved. I closed it and it usually asks you if you want to safe it or not, but this time it didn't. I didn't really question it until I tried to email it to my iPad and I couldn't find it and then I started to panic. I spent two hours trying to find it and I suddenly realized that I didn't look in the trash, so I looked in it and I found it. That's my story and I feel like kind of stupid right now. Happy June!


	6. Chapter 6

**Mailbag:**

**lucky333123: Well you know me, I have to live up to my pen name. I truly am an obsessive Ryley fan, so of course I would put them in this! **

**gleelover62: I know! It bothers me so much that some people just throw together a fanfiction. They actually have really good ideas, they just aren't well written. I definitely am trying to make this story really realistic and so far I think I am doing okay. **

**Gleek888: It definitely bothered me that they didn't really develop the Kartie relationship like they did with Klaine and Finchel. I am also trying to keep the whole plot very natural and realistic. I am already on chapter nine of How I Met Your Mother and it's killing me that it's not on Netflix yet because I have to resort to megashare which is kind of scary. I've heard the ending isn't very good **

**Credits for Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus goes to Mo Willems**

* * *

"Je n'ai pas parle à avec Nathan," Julienne said, angrily. I collapsed into my chair and threw my head back.

"Why not," she said, belligerently.

"Because, you need to prove to LG that you didn't steal their designs. Pure arguments won't do anything. We need proof," I argued.

"What if I can't get the designs," Julienne said, averting her eyes from mine.

"You can get the designs, can't you?"

"Well," she said, drawing the word out, her voice going up an octave, "I don't really know."

"Why?"

"Ed - in the archives department - and I aren't exactly on the best terms," Julienne said.

"Why," I repeated.

"I can't tell you." I threw my head back again.

"You could lose a huge sum of your company, Julienne. Your equity would drop dramatically. You should be able to march in there and get it and not care whatever happened before. We need it to win the case."

"I can't," Julienne whined. I threw my head back for the third time in five minutes.

"You are supporting your entire company right now, Julienne. This shouldn't even be up for discussion."

"He won't give it to me. Pourriez-vous le faire pour moi?" I raised my eyebrows.

"Here's a hint. It's a yes or no question."

Cautiously, I said, "Yes."

* * *

"Why did I take this case," I complained to myself. It turns out, "pourriez-vous le faire pour moi" means "could you get it for me". Now, I was standing in some guy's office while he riffled through a cabinet, watching him occasionally look back and give me the googly eyes.

"Here," he said, handing me a rolled up blue print.

"Thank you," I said, offering him a friendly smile before turning on my heels and walking out of his office.

* * *

"See you tomorrow," I said to Marley.

"Bye," She said, smiling, shutting the door behind Anna and I.

"I was thinking," I said as we walked down the hall of the apartment building, "What if we went to the bookstore today," Her eyes widened and she nodded, "I saw you didn't have a lot of books and I think you've read all of them. I want you to have some more."

* * *

As soon as we stepped into Barnes and Noble, Anna looked like she was in paradise. I lead her to the kids section. There weren't many kids there, but Anna, who I had found was very shy, still clung to my hand. I brought her to a big bookshelf filled with picture books. She ran her fingers over the spines of the books, stopping on one and pulled out Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. She did this several more times until she had Make Way for Duckings, Officer Buckle and Gloria, Knuffle Bunny, Olivia the Pig and Flotsam.

"Done," Anna said proudly, holding up her books.

"Good job," I replied, "I just have to get one thing. Do you want to come or do you want to stay here and look at more books?"

"I wanna come with you," she answered, taking my hand again.

"Okay," I said. I lead her to a shelf of translating dictionaries. I mimicked her movements and ran a finger over the spines, reading the titles until I found a French-English dictionary. I pulled it out and tucked it under my arm, along with all of Anna's books.

"What's that for," Anna asked as we walked towards the cashier.

"Well, someone I work with speaks in French sometimes, so I don't really know what she's saying. This way, I can teach myself a little French and be able to understand her," I explained.

* * *

"Do you want to read one of your new books," I asked Anna, who was coloring at the counter while I cleaned up after dinner. I turned to face her. She nodded.

"Where are they," she asked, putting down her blue crayon. I pointed to couch and she hopped off the chair and ran to the couch, "Here they are." She ran back, carrying the green and white bag with her.

"Great," I said, "Go get ready for bed. I just have to finish cleaning up and then I'll be in. Pick a book out." I put the last plate into the dishwasher, shut the door and turned it on. I waited until I heard its rumbling before I started down the hallway. I walked in just as Anna was climbing into her bed.

"What book did you pick," I asked. She held out a book. I crossed the room and sat next to her on the bed. I took Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus and heard the somewhat comforting crack of a book being opened for the first time.

"Ooh, I love that sound," Anna said.

"So do I," I agreed. I began to read, "Hi! I'm the bus driver. Listen, I've got to leave for a little while, so can you watch things for me until I get back? Thanks, oh, and remember: don't let the pigeon drive the bus!" I turned the page and on one half, I saw a blue bus, and on the other side, there was a blue bird.

"I thought he'd never leave," I read from the speech bubble coming from the bird, "Hey, can I drive the bus?" Next to me, I saw Anna slowly shake her head, "Please? I'll be careful. I'll tell you what: I'll just steer. My cousin Herb drives a bus almost every day! True story. Vroom-vroom vroomy vroom vroom! Pigeon at the wheel," Anna giggled, "No, I never get to do anything. Hey, I've got an idea. Let's play "Drive the Bus"! I'll go first. C'mon! just once around the block! I'll be your best friend! How 'bout I give you five bucks? What's the big deal? No fair! I bet your mom would let me. I have dreams, you know! Fine. LET ME DRIVE THE BUS, "Anna burst into hysterical laughter at pigeon on the page. I turned to the next page and saw the bus driver again, "I'm back! You didn't let the pigeon drive the bus, did you? Great, thanks a lot," Then, Anna pointed to the pigeon on the other side, "Uh-oh," I read from the pigeon's speech bubble, "Bye." Then, I turned the page to see the bottom of a truck, "Hey," the pigeon said. The next page showed the pigeon dreaming of trucks. I closed the book, "All done." When Anna didn't respond, I glanced down to see her asleep, leaning towards me with her head resting on my shoulder. At first, I started to panic. If I moved, I might wake her up, but if I fall asleep, what would happen if I accidentally rolled over and hurt her. Then I realized how much Anna had come over the past couple weeks. If she could trust me enough to be able to fall asleep next to me, I'm doing something right. I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep with my daughter in my arms.

* * *

**It was eighty seven degrees today and I went outside to tan, but then I remembered that I don't like sunlight so I went back inside. I think that was bad...**


	7. Chapter 7

**Summer in 6 more days! Sorry I didn****'****t have this up sooner. My Wi-Fi has been down for a while and it just was fixed.**

**Mailbag:**

**kyrandiana: I know chapter six was a little short, but I didn****'****t really have a lot of time for this chapter. Monday has come again, so you have to wait no longer. You will find your idea has come quite in handy for this chapter, so thank you so much for you suggestions. **

**gleelover62: Rereading chapter six, I definitely wish that I could have at least mentioned Artie in it. I actually love your idea of having Artie read Anna a book at some point, so keep looking for that.**

**WildeAbrams: **

**Chapter 5: I do agree with you that I should probably have had Kitty be a little more discreet in her discussion about her case, but I can****'****t go back now. I am definitely going to talk about the breakup in a lot more detail eventually. I don****'****t really know when, but it will happen. I also intentionally left out her snarkiness because the events in her life really impacted her emotionally. I am planning on gradually bringing it back throughout the story. **

**Chapter 6: I actually love the idea of mentioning Artie every chapter and I plan on doing it from here on out. I should have mentioned him in chapter 6, but I guess I forgot. Also, I am honored to be included in your Best of WildeAbrams community. Thank you!**

**Gleek888: Don****'****t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus is hysterical. I have three episodes left of HIMYM, and I heard the ending was horrible. I do agree that chapter six was too short, but I was on a time crunch. For a treat, I will try to update twice in one week for a couple weeks in honor of finals, the end of school and the start of summer.**

* * *

Just as I drifted off to sleep, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I turned my head and kissed Anna, very lightly, on the forehead. She stirred and murmured, but didn't open her eyes. I pulled my arm from around her shoulder and stepped out of her bed. I walked out her room, closing the door behind me.

"Hello,"I said, answering the phone.

"Hey"Artie replied, "Sorry I'm calling so late. You just didn't answer any of my texts. I glanced at my phone and saw that I did indeed have several unopened messages.

"Sorry, I was reading to Anna and I fell asleep with her."

"Really,"he asked, excitedly, "She fell asleep in your arms? That's so cute! I'm sorry I had to take you away from that."

"It's okay. I had to get up anyway," I reassured him, "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"Oh yeah, I need your advice about something."

"Ok."

"I'm working on a concept for another movie and there's a court scene in it. Is it realistic for the defendant to stand on a table when he makes his argument?"

"Is this a musical?"

"No," he replied.

"Is the defendant a child?"

"No," he repeated.

"Then no. I have never heard of that ever happening. I think the defendant would automatically lose the case if he did that."

"I told you," Artie said to someone he was presumably arguing with.

"I also have to ask you something," I said.

"Shoot."

"I'm starting a weekly game night with Anna, and I was wondering if you wanted to come over and play some board games with us this Friday, around six?"

"I'm there," Artie said, "But you have to promise me one thing."

"What?"

"We have to play Candy Land."

"It's at the top of the pile," I reassured him, "Well, I'll see you Friday."

"I'm looking forward to it."

* * *

"Guess who's coming over to play games with us," I asked Anna as we were pulling board games out of a closet.

"Who?"

"My good friend Artie Abrams. He's so nice and funny."

"Is he the guy you've been going out with?"

"Oh, I think I need to have a talk with Marley. But, yes."

* * *

Exactly at six, there was a knock on the door and I heard Anna running to answer it. I didn't really think much of it until I heard Anna say, "Who are you?" I ran out into the family room and saw Artie in the doorway and Anna looking curiously at him and his wheelchair.

"Hi Artie," I said, waving, "This is Anna." I gestured to Anna, who had retreated back to me, "Anna, this is Artie. Remember I told you he was coming too?" She nodded shyly.

* * *

"Okay," I said, after setting up Candy Land , "Which person does everybody want to be?"

"I wanna be the blue guy," Anna said. Artie took green and I took yellow. Anna took a card off the top of the pile and flipped it over.

"Two yellows," she said excitedly. She moved her player forward two yellow spaces.

Over the next fifteen minutes, we advanced through Candy Land. At first, I thought Artie would win, but Anna pulled a last minute Lollipop Woods, she pulled ahead and won. I however, had gotten stuck in the licorice every time and took six turns to get out of the Molasses Swamp. Both Artie and Anna were laughing at me.

"Oh be quiet," I said, "Artie do you want anything to drink?"

"Just water, if you don't mind," he replied, scooping all the game pieces into the box. I nodded and walked over to the kitchen, Anna following behind. I poured two glasses of water for Artie and I and some apple juice into a plastic cup for Anna.

"How do you like Artie," I asked Anna quietly.

"He's nice," Anna replied, smiling, "and he's super funny."

"He is isn't he."

"You really like him, don't you?"

"I do," I said, "You're a smart girl, you know that." Anna shrugged bashfully, "Let's go play some more games."

* * *

"Hey," I said, coming back from putting Anna to bed, "I think she's asleep now."

"She's a cute kid," Artie said, "And a spitting image of you."

"Thanks," I replied, "Things are getting a lot easier with her."

"That's great," he replied, smiling, "Well, I should go. I have a meeting with my co-director in an hour."

"It's nine o'clock at night," I said, sounding shocked.

"Yeah, well, this guy is working on post production for his latest movie and the only time he could meet with me was at eleven at night and I'm not one to argue," he explained, "How's work going at the office."

"Oh it isn't an office. It's Hell with fluorescent lighting," I said.

"That's too bad."

"Yeah. I'm also starting to get weird messages from a blocked number, asking me to call them back."

"That's really weird," Artie said, "Do you have any idea who they could be from?"

"This may sound weird, but I kind of think its Carol."

"Could it be?"

"I don't know. I have no idea where she is or where she went after she left. I just know that I don't want to give Anna back to her. I might have at the beginning, but I need her now. And she needs me. I love her."

* * *

**Another dreadfully short chapter, I'm afraid. I'll try to have a chapter published this Wednesday or Thursday. I can't promise anything though.**


	8. Chapter 8

**I am official done with middle school! Yes! **

**Mailbox: **

**kyrandiana: Aww thanks!**

**XNV01: Thanks! It always bothered me how they didn't at least explain why they broke up. I hope they get back together in season 6. **

**gleelover62: Anna does like Artie and I am definitely going to develop their friendship more throughout the story. My chapters are getting a lot shorter, but I hope that they will start getting more exciting and longer now that I'm on summer break.**

**WildeAbrams: The big stuff is coming soon!**

* * *

"Have a nice night," Julienne said, as she left my office.

"Thanks," I replied, "You too." I started shutting down my laptop and packing up all my stuff, eager to go home to Anna. All of a sudden, my phone rang. I glanced at the caller ID before picking it up. It was a blocked number. While it rang, my mind was racing with the possibilities. Against my better judgement, I picked up the phone.

"Hello," I said, drawing the word out carefully.

"Hello," a curt voice replied, "I'm David Heimert. I am the lawyer of Carol Gattis. I am calling about the affairs of Anna Gattis." My heart dropped into my stomach.

"W-what," I stammered.

"Approximately one month ago, Carol Gattis, Anna's adoptive mother, arrived at your house and dropped Anna off. Is this correct?"

"Yes, but-"

"And she has not contacted you anytime before this, correct?"

"Yes, but-"

"Well, Carol would like her back.

* * *

I sat in the back of the taxi, not really sure what to think. David had hung up the phone shortly after he had said the Carol wanted Anna, ending with, "I expect a call back from you in two days."

"What's eating you," the cab driver said, glancing back at me. I shrugged.

"It's a long story."

"Well, you have seventeen minutes until we reach your destination, so why don't you start."

"Okay. I guess it started when I was twenty two, when I had my daughter Anna. I couldn't take care of her, so I put her up for adoption. A couple days after she was born, a woman named Carol adopted her. About a month ago, the two of them showed up at my apartment and Carol practically threw Anna at me, after I didn't see either of them for five years. After a month of living with her, she finally started to warm up to me and then all of a sudden, Carol calls and says she wants Anna back."

"Woah."

"Yeah. I just don't know what to do."

"Why don't you talk about with someone whose opinion matters to you," the taxi driver suggested, "Not someone like me who you just met."

* * *

"Hello," Artie said, picking up the phone on the first ring.

"Hey, it's me."

"Oh, hey Kitty! What's up?"

"Remember when I told you I was getting some weird calls from a block number?"

"Yeah."

"Well, it ended up being from Carol's lawyer. She wants Anna back."

"Oh my god! What are you going to do? Have you talked to Anna?"

"No. I don't know what she's going to do. A month ago, both of us would have been happy with having Carol come back, but know, I don't want her to leave. I just don't know about her."

"I'm sure she'll want to stay. You should talk to her about it."

"Yeah."

* * *

"Hey Anna," I called, "Can I talk to you?" A moment later, she came out of her room, carrying her duck with her. She sat across from me at the table.

"I got an interesting call at work today. It was from a man named David Heimert," Anna's remained expressionless, "He is Ca- your mom's lawyer. Your mom wants you back." At first, she looked happy, and then a split second later, her face fell into a look of confusion.

"What," she asked, sounding shocked.

"It's totally your decision," I reassured her, "If you want to go with your mom, you can. If you want to stay with me, you can," I stopped to wait for a response, but none came, "Do you need to think about this." She nodded, climbed off the chair and walked back to her room.

* * *

"Hey, it's me," I said as soon as Marley picked up her phone, "I think you were the first person I should have told this, but last night, Carol's lawyer called me. She wants Anna back."

"Oh my God."

"I know."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm letting Anna decide whether she wants to stay with me or go with Carol."

"What! You're letting a five year kid make a huge life decision!"

"Well I can't help her. I'm completely biased towards myself"

"Do you want me to help?"

"Do you want to?"

"Yes," Marley reassured me, "But I have to let you know, I'm just as biased as you are."

"What do you mean?"

"I'd miss having her around."

* * *

"Hey," I said, poking my head into Anna's room, "It's been two days. I kind of have to call David back." She just shrugged. Anna had been especially distant the last two days, "Marley's been helping you right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, hasn't that been helpful?"

"But if I choose you, it might hurt Mommy's feelings, but if I choose Mommy, it will hurt your feelings."

"Do you need a little more help," I asked. She nodded, "Let me tell you something. Your Mommy left you with me without telling you. That hurt a lot, right," she nodded, "Do you know for a fact that she wouldn't ever do that again?"

"No," she said.

"So that's a major point for me. But, I work all week and I don't get to spend a lot of time with you. Your mom doesn't work, right? Well, that's a point to her."

"I guess. But you play with me a read to me. Mom didn't do that. Only you do."

"Yeah, well your mom also raised you for five years. I've only been taking care of you for a month."

"But you bake stuff with me and play games with me."

"We have about two hours figure out this honey. We have to do this now."

* * *

"Hello," I said, "This is Katherine Wilde. I'm calling for David Heimert."

"Oh, yes," his receptionist said, "He was expecting your call." After a few minutes, I heard, "Kitty, great to hear from you."

"Hi David."

"Have you discussed this with Anna?"

"I have. We decided that," I took a deep breath before saying my next words, "Anna's going to stay with me."

* * *

**I am in camps every single day this summer. Please shoot me now.**


	9. Chapter 9

** I'm loving the eighty degree weather!**

** Mailbag:**

** kyrandiana: Aww thanks!**

** Gleek888: Lately I haven't had a lot of writing time, so conversations will be a bit shorter. I am working on it though. I wish I used your idea! Maybe I'll try to fit it in sometime.**

** WildeAbrams: Yeah, I probably should have had her do those things, but I'm only fourteen and not exactly educated in the field of custody wars and that kind of thing.**

** gleelover62: Thank you so much! Your reviews make me so happy! Amaze-balls is literally in my top ten most used words vocabulary list!**

* * *

"I'm sorry," David said, sounding shocked.

"I'm keeping Anna."

"It wasn't a choice. Carol - Anna's legal guardian - wants Anna back," David argued. My next words were spoken before I had a chance to think about them.

"Then I will see you in court." The other end clicked, signifying that David, unable to think of a good response, had hung up the phone. What the hell was I thinking?

* * *

"I have a slight problem," I said, after Artie picked up his phone, "I think I might have just started a custody war."

"What the hell happened?"

"I said that Anna wanted to stay with me but-"

"She did! That's great!"

"I know, right. Anyway, he said that it wasn't an option, so I said I would see them in court. Oh God, I'm an idiot. I'm not a family lawyer."

"Can't you get someone who is," Artie suggested, "I'm sure you know somebody."

"Yeah. I think I do."

* * *

"Hello, Michael Garrett's office."

"Hi, I'm Katherine Wilde. I'm calling about a custody issue I'm having."

"Would you like to make an appointment?"

"Yes."

"I have an opening this Wednesday at six."

"Ok, that works."

"Great! We'll see you Wednesday."

* * *

That Wednesday, I left work early to go to Michael Garrett's office. I pulled open his door

"Hello," a perky looking receptionist said, smiling, "You must be Katherine."

"Yes, hi," I said. At that moment, Michael emerged from another room. He looked like he was in his mid-forties and he looked friendly.

"Hello, I'm Michael Garrett. You must be Katherine. Hello!"

"Hi," I said, shaking his hand.

"Come on into my office," I followed Michael into his office, "So I heard you accidentally started a custody battle. Tell me the whole story. From the beginning."

"Ok. I guess the beginning was in my senior year of college. We had just taken our last final and so we had a party to celebrate and everybody got really drunk. I woke up the next day in some random guy's apartment. About two months after that, I found out I was pregnant with my daughter, Anna.

"I decided a little while before she was born that I couldn't keep her. I couldn't do it financially and because I was young. I also wanted to go to law school and do things like that. I put her up for adoption and a couple days after she was born, a woman named Carol Gattis showed up and said she would take her. She signed a few forms and took her. That same year, I moved from Virginia, where I went to college, to Boston for law school. I moved here a year ago and started working at Greywall.

"About two months ago, Carol showed up at my apartment with Anna and practically threw her at me. Last week, Carol's lawyer David called me and said that Carol wanted Anna back. I talked it over with Anna and she told me that she wanted to stay with me and somehow, when I told David, it started a custody battle."

"Wow," Michael said, looking slightly dumbstruck, but he recovered fairly quickly, "I know I'm not a therapist, but how is Anna doing."

"Actually, now she's doing pretty well," I replied, "At the beginning, she didn't ever talk to anyone or eat, but I started spending more time with her and less at work and it actually has been getting a lot better."

"And she wants to stay with you?"

"That's what she told me."

"Now, do you know why Carol left Anna?"

"No idea. She told me that things had come up and she left."

"Ok. Now, I feel like this is a stupid question, but Anna does know that she's your daughter, right?"

"Actually, I have no idea. I don't know what Carol told her. I don't want to ruin anything."

"You need to make sure she knows. If you don't tell her, she's going to find out some other way. I won't tell her, but you need to."

* * *

"Well it was great meeting you," Michael said.

"You too," I replied.

"Same time next week, and this time, bring Anna."

"Sure."

"Oh, one more thing. I need you to talk to Anna about why Carol may have left her. She might not know, but any information we can get, the better."

* * *

"Thanks for the advice," I said to Artie over the phone.

"No problem, " Artie replied, happily, "I'm just glad that this is getting solved."

"Yeah. Anyway, I should probably go. Anna has to go to bed soon and Marley took her to the library today, so we've got some brand new books to read."

"She's in the room with you, isn't she."

"Yes."

"Ok, then I'd better let you go."

"I'll call you tomorrow."

"Wait a second. I've been meaning to ask you something. You know, I've loved our conversations and the time we've spent together. I was wondering," he paused, and I heard him take a deep breath, "Would you like to be my girlfriend?"

"I would love to." After a minute of brief conversation, I said goodbye. Smiling, I put my phone back into my pocket and turned around to see Anna smugly smiling up at me.

"It's about time," she said.

"Oh be quiet," I said, nudging her, "It's time for you to go to bed." As she walked into her room and climbed into bed.

"Before I read," I said, "I have something I need to ask you."

"What," Anna asked, pulling the blankets up to her chin.

"Do you remember why your mom left you here? Did she say anything?" For a minute, her face clouded over, as if she was remembering something painful. She shrugged.

"I really need to know honey. I'm not going to get mad at you because you never did anything wrong." She shrugged again.

"You know what we can do," I said, pulling my phone back out of my pocket and turning it on, "I can leave the room and you can record your answer. I won't listen to it until I go to work tomorrow morning." For a moment, she sat there, then, slowly, she nodded. I opened the recording app and gave Anna my phone. I stood up and left her room, closing the door behind me.

* * *

A couple minutes later, Anna opened the door again and handed me my phone. She looked different from when I left her. She looked like she had just admitted something she really needed to and she now had a huge weight lifted off of her shoulders.

"Ready to read," I asked, "I can't wait to see what books you got with Marley." She nodded and smiled, wider than I had ever seen.

* * *

The minute I got to my office and sat down, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and turned it on. I immediately opened the recording app and pressed play on the newest recording.

* * *

**So Artie and Kitty are finally dating! Yay! I like explanation points! **


	10. Chapter 10

**Happy July! **

**Mailbag:**

**kyrandiana: I always try, but I have this thing where I tell myself that I'm going to spend an entire day writing and knock off like thirty chapters but then I end up spending an entire day on Tumblr. Oops. I will see what I can do, but with my level of procrastination, I can't promise anything. **

**Gleek888: Yup I'm fourteen. I also hope I get better. I was looking back at some of my writing from when I was ten and I was like holy crap I thought this stuff was good. The funny part was that it was Harry Potter fanfiction, even though I didn't realize it at the time. I was planning on making the scene when Artie asks Kitty to be his girlfriends more romantic, but I figured that if I hadn't written then I wouldn't ever get to it. **

**marliynkellyhepburn: Read and you'll find out and I definitely am going to keep updating!**

**gleelover62: I didn't know how to get Anna to tell Kitty, but then when I was reading about custody wars, I read that you should record everything, so everything is evidence. I thought that was pretty smart, so I put it in. My originality levels are sky high...**

**WildeAbrams: Aww, thanks and I plan too!**

* * *

The minute I got to my office and sat down, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and turned it on. I immediately opened the recording app and pressed play on the newest recording. After a few seconds, Anna began to speak.

"I don't know why she left. A lot of the time, she would leave me with my Uncle Kevin for a day or a week and not tell anyone why. Sometimes I think it was because she would have guys over for a couple days and then I would leave. My Uncle says they go to Vegas sometimes, but I don't know what Vegas is. The guys weren't very nice. I liked leaving. I think I had to come to you because my Uncle was in Europe on a big vacation when she wanted to get rid of me for a little bit. This is the longest she's ever gone. She sometimes would say that there were business opportunities. One time she accidentally left me at home for three days. When she brought me to you, she said that we would be going for a little ride, even though we lived a long way away; out of the city. I didn't know why she brought my stuff. I just knew that she was leaving me somewhere," She paused for a full thirty seconds, long enough for me to think she was done, but she resumed speaking, "I like it here better than with her," She paused again, "So much more." I felt my eyes start to water up. At exactly this moment, Julienne decided to show up. "

What is wrong," she asked, sounding shocked and sympathetic at the same time.

"I'm just going through a lot right now.

"I'm sorry," Julienne said, "Les hommes sont très horribles."

"It's not that," I said. Julienne sat down in the seat across from me.

"Tell me everything. You sound like you need to."

"We don't have time for that."

"Oh, come on. We've got this case in the bag. Start talking."

"Ok," I began, "I had a daughter in my senior year of college," I hesitated, bracing myself for Julienne's reacting, but none came, "I wanted to go to law school so I put my daughter Anna up for adoption. A woman named Carol adopted her two days after she was born. I didn't see either of them again until about two months ago. Carol showed up in my apartment with Anna and left her with me. A couple days ago, Carol's lawyer called me and said that Carol wanted Anna back and I said I would see them in court."

"Why were you just crying?"

"I hired a lawyer and he asked me to ask Anna why Carol left her with me. She wouldn't tell me in person, but she recorded her answer on my phone. I just listened to it."

"Can I hear it?" I nodded and reset the recording. I listened to it one more time, and yet again, I still found myself in tears.

"That really means a lot to you," Julienne said, when the recording finished.

"You have no idea," I replied, wiping away a tear.

* * *

"Hey," I said, after Artie called me.

"Hey, I was wondering if you and if you and Anna would want to have dinner with me tonight, if you aren't doing anything. I know you both are going through a lot right now."

"No, we aren't doing anything, and yes, we would love to."

"Great. I was also thinking, it's Friday again, so maybe could teach Anna how to play Clue."

"Oh my god, we totally should!"

"So I'll see you two tonight?"

"Yeah." He gave me the name of the restaurant and we hung up.

"Hey Anna," I said, putting my phone back into my pocket.

"Yeah," she called back from her room.

"Do you want to go out for dinner with Artie and I tonight." Anna came out, carrying a picture book.

"But I thought tonight was our game night?"

"It is. We're going to come back here after dinner. We have a new game we want to teach you called Clue. Have you ever played it?" She shook her head, "So do you want to come out to eat with us?" She nodded.

"I have a question."

"Yeah?"

"Why is he in a wheelchair?"

"I think that's a question you should ask him honey," I replied.

* * *

"Hi," I said, reaching the table where Artie was already sitting, "Sorry we're a little late. This one couldn't pick what she wanted to wear."

"Neither could you," Anna said quietly from behind my back. With a little help from Anna, I had chosen another Peter Pan collar dress. This one was light yellow with a black collar and a thin black ribbon around the middle. It had a dainty pattern of birds all over it. For herself, Anna had gone all out. She decided on a denim sundress. It had colorful patterns along the hem. Out of the back of her closet, she had dug out a pair of bright pink glittery wedge sandals with flowers on the sides. She had also found a fringe headband in a pocket of her suitcase that matched her dress and a beaded bracelet and matching necklace. This five year old is dressed better than I am.

"I like your bag Anna," Artie said, smiling. Anna, on her unspoken quest to out-dress me, had found yet another long lost accessory. It was a big pink rectangular bag that looked like an old fashioned camera.

"What's everybody going to order," Artie asked as Anna and I sat down across from him.

"Mac and cheese" Anna said excitedly.

"I don't know yet," I said, looking through the menu. Anna, who had done her job, had now opened her box of crayons. She started coloring a lion on her kid's menu with a purple crayon.

"You know," Artie began, leaning over to look at her picture, "I like purple, but I really do prefer my lions to be green." Anna giggled.

* * *

After dinner, we all headed home back to my apartment for game night. While we explained the rules of the game, which proved to be fairly difficult, Artie began to speak, "Hey Anna," Artie said, "You start kindergarten next month, right?" She nodded, "Are you excited?" She shook her head, "Oh, why not?"

"I don't know anybody."

"Yes you do," I said comfortingly, "Remember, Ryder's going to be your teacher."

"Really," Artie asked, sounding surprised, "Oh right. I remember when you told me he teaches kindergarten."

"Yeah. He pulled a few strings to get her in even though I," I glanced at Anna who was busy playing with the game's metal weapons, "I don't have any of her documents or medical files."

"Oh, well that's good - the school, not the lack of medical documents. At least she'll get to go to school."

"Yeah," I replied, shuffling the cards, "All right, let's play."

* * *

After two games of Clue – the first proved to be mostly a test round, so we played a second once Anna learned the rules – I noticed Anna looked a little drowsy.

"It's almost time for you to go to bed," I said to Anna, who was leaning against me with her head by my shoulder. She shook her head slowly; her eyes fluttering closed and then opened again.

* * *

"I think she's asleep," I said, coming back from putting Anna to bed, "Sorry that took so long."

"Oh, it wasn't long at all," Artie replied, smiling, "She's really great."

"Thanks," I said, bashfully, "I just don't want to lose her again."

"So you're really going through with the custody thing."

"It's the only thing I can do to keep her away from Carol."

* * *

Artie stayed for about an hour after I put Anna to bed. We didn't do much. We just talked about everything. I was really enjoying my time with him, but as it neared ten o'clock, I knew that he had to go soon. As I stood up and Artie started to wheel towards the door, I asked something that I had wanted to ask him for a while.

"Hey, would you want to come to Marley and Ryder's wedding next weekend. I know it's kind of last minute, but I keep forgetting to ask."

"I would love to. It sounds fun."

"Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. Anna's the flower girl, so she's over the moon excited."

"Oh good for her."

"She's been practicing with a box of tissues for a while."

"That has to be a fun mess to clean up."

"Oh yeah," I replied, "The stuffed attendants aren't always pleased with my cleaning methods either." Artie laughed.

"I'll text you later," he said. I bent down to give him a kiss on the cheek.

* * *

**This took me forever to write! I'm dying of heat at the moment. I also learned that Tumblr is a lot scarier than I thought it was. Also, 4chan are assholes**.


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